Garden of Eden
by xduck
Summary: . . . a paradise where all animals lived in peace with one another . . .


I didn't think there was anything unusual about my surroundings when I first opened my eyes that morning, still half-asleep, but as I began to realize that I wasn't staring at something that didn't belong in my bedroom I quickly sat up in a panic and looked around. With that many plants around me and the sky as a ceiling, I definitely wasn't in my bedroom. More like some sort of jungle.

I thought something else felt a little odd, and my suspicion was confirmed once I looked down and saw my naked body. I gasped and instinctively tried to cover as much of it with my arms. The only times I'd been naked were when I was in the bathroom, and even if no one else was around to see me I didn't like the idea of being exposed in an arguably public place.

My mind then raced a mile a minute. I tried to remember what had happened last night, but to my frustration I only drew a blank. I caught myself before I could panic some more. _Calm down_, I thought to myself. _Let's start with your name._

"My name is Videl," I said out loud. I sighed in relief. At least I could remember that much. "I'm sixteen years old," I went on. "I live in Satan City. My favorite things in the world are . . . "

I had to stop because I couldn't remember. I was both angry and annoyed that I felt like crying, but at the same time I felt like I shouldn't. I blinked to quell the tears and again reminded myself to get my priorities straight. _Work with what you have. First things first._

The first thing to do, of course, was for myself to get something to wear. There wasn't much I could do with one arm always trying to cover my breasts, not that my breasts were the only vital part of my body that needed some covering. I looked around, trying to find something I could use as a cloth, and as expected found nothing as practical as a T-shirt I could slip into within a matter of seconds.

My gaze fell on one tree with thin branches with a lot of small leaves attached. I didn't know what the tree was called, but it hardly mattered right now. I reached up and broke a few of the tiny branches and started tying one to another. I wasn't even sure if it would work, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could put the end result around my ways. Some of the branches poked at my skin, but it was better than walking around in the nude. I proceeded to make another one for the upper part of my body, and while it wasn't the ideal piece of clothing in any sense of the word it did the job. Both of my arms were now free.

I went on and started exploring the place, not having the slightest idea of what it was I was looking for. I figured moving was better than staying still, and the more I saw the more clues I would get.

Whatever that place was, I concluded, there were barely any living things in it. There were lots and lots of plants, but no animals as far as I could see. I couldn't decide if I should be worried or relieved. On the one hand I was glad I didn't have to battle any wild animals, but on the other hand I knew I was going to have to eat sooner or later, and all those fruits weren't going to be enough for me.

I kept walking for what felt for hours, and the strange feeling suddenly came. It was that feeling that every girl has felt, the one where you feel like you're being watched by someone. I turned left and turned right, but my eyes weren't trained enough to be able to see much beyond the surface. I could hear the rustles of the leaves, but I couldn't see whatever it was that made me feel that way. I gulped as I clenched my fists. I may be afraid, but I wasn't about to let my fear power over me.

"Anyone there?" I yelled, possibly to nobody. I didn't even know what I expected, but I definitely wasn't expecting what did happen.

From somewhere behind the bushes, a voice I thought I recognized responded, "Videl? Is that you?" Before I had a chance to react, the owner of the voice took a leap and was now standing before me.

"Gohan!" I was glad that I didn't forget him, or he me. I couldn't imagine how disastrous it would be it would be I'd thought he was a stranger I couldn't trust, like what I'd thought he was when we first me. I was so happy to see a familiar face, in fact, that I'd hugged him without realizing it. I pulled back once I came to my senses and cleared my throat. "I mean, good to see you here."

"Good to see you, too," he said, seeming extremely sincere when he said it. I wondered if he would've hugged me if he wasn't a boy and the one who was supposed to be the protector I could rely on.

It was then that I noticed what he was wearing. He had also fashioned a cloth from leaves to hide his private area, but his cloth looked a lot better than mine. It probably felt more comfortable than mine, too. I hated him for having better motor skills and an actual artistic sense than I did, and then I hated him for looking at me below the neck with wide eyes.

"Stop it," I said. "It's nothing you haven't seen before." That was not entirely true. I had never anything half as revealing before and he'd never even seen my stomach, but I was just starting to get used to walking around half-naked and I didn't want to feel self-conscious about it again.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just have never seen you dressed like that before."

"Well, Gohan," I said, my tone more sarcastic than I intended it to be, "It's not every day I wake up in a Godforsaken place with almost nothing in my memory."

He looked hurt enough that I immediately regretted what I said. It wasn't like the whole thing was his fault, and I was fully aware that I was only taking out my frustration with him.

"Anyway," I went on, trying to detract from what I'd said earlier, "do you by any chance remember what happened? Do you know why we're here? Or what this place is?"

He slowly shook his head. "No, I don't. But I feel like I've been here before."

I gave him a look as he ruminated over it some more, and I tried to sift through what was left my memory in case I felt the same way. No such luck, though. I didn't feel like I'd been there, and I couldn't stand the idea that I had to stand there helpless while someone else did the figuring out. It didn't help that Gohan had far greater capacity for memorization than normal people.

_Let's try this again_, I thought to myself. _My name is Videl. I am sixteen years old. I live in Satan City. My favorite things in the world are . . ._

I wasn't sure if I was even trying to fill in the blanks. I probably just wanted to feel like I was doing something when in reality I was only waiting for Gohan. There wasn't much I could do, really, with half of the content of my brain gone, and I felt a sense of relief when Gohan opened his mouth again and mumbled something.

"What?"

"I said . . . could this be the Garden of Eden?"

The name sounded only vaguely familiar to me. It sounded like one of those things that I probably would know all about when I was a lot younger, but not as an adult with more important things on my mind (ha). I tilted my head in confusion. "I think I've heard of that place before," I said truthfully. I thought I could still hear the voice of someone telling me the story in the distant past. _Legend had it_. Or was it a myth?

"Some say the Garden of Eden was a place where the first man and the first woman lived," Gohan said, more to himself than to me. "It was a paradise where all animals lived in peace with one another until one day when a snake tempted the first woman to eat a fruit of the forbidden tree."

He looked more appreciative than he was earlier now that he had an idea of what this place was, or what it could've been. I probably would be, too, if I had the slightest clue of what the significance of all of this was. But all I wanted to do was to be back home.

"Great." I crossed my arms impatiently. "So assuming you're right, how is that knowledge going to get us out of here?"

"Uhm, well . . . " Gohan paused. " . . . I don't know, but according to the story God used to take a walk in the evening here in Eden. Maybe if we wait for him he'll be able to help us out."

I raised my eyebrow at this suggestion. Waiting really wasn't my thing. "So we're supposed to sit here and do nothing until evening? We don't even know if he's going to show up anywhere near this area."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with trying it my way for now," Gohan said in a somewhat timid voice, making me conscious of how harsh I was being to him. "If he doesn't show up then we'll think of something else, but for one evening we'll wait."

I still had my doubts, but I knew he was right. We had time, didn't we? Of course I could wait for one evening. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to do.

"Fine," I finally caved in. I could tell from his expression that Gohan was relieved. I could be hard to deal with sometimes. "But we better come up with our back-up plan while we wait."


End file.
